Faith Driven Entrepreneur

If there’s one topic that makes its way onto this podcast more than anything, it’s the importance of community. Starting your own business can be a lonely journey...but it doesn’t have to be.Today’s guest is an expert on what it looks like to be lonely at the top—and what it looks like to be surrounded by a support system. Dr. Richard S. Lytle currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of CEO Forum, Inc where he is helping business leaders find community.If you’re tired of going it alone, give this episode a listen. And afterwards, if you’re looking for a place to belong, find your Faith Driven community.

Today, we’re talking about ESOPs, which stands for employee stock ownership plan. For businesses looking to transfer ownership of their business, many are looking to ESOPs as a way to keep the culture they’ve created within their company. We invited Kris DenBesten, President and CEO of Vermeer Southeast, to share his experience of turning his business into an ESOP. He gave us the full scoop on what he and his company walked through, the questions they asked when making the decision, and the reasons they made the move.

Chris Carneal is the founder and CEO of Booster Enterprises, better known by their brand Boosterthon, where they put on fitness fundraisers at schools all throughout the United States. Since founding the company 18 years ago, Chris has turned Booster into a behemoth. They've helped schools raise more than $350 million, and they've served more than 7 million students. But then COVID hit. And a team of 1,000 full-time employees dropped to 140. Chris takes us there and shares the feeling that every entrepreneur has experienced at some time or another—that the weight of the business is on your shoulders. Hear him share how his perspective has changed on who really holds the company and how he’s leading his business forward today…Booster Website: https://www.choosebooster.com/ 

In addition to being one of the co-authors of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur book, Chip Ingram is one of those people that we can't seem to have on this podcast enough. If you've followed along for a while, you've no doubt heard him before, but today, he's going to join us and share why he's excited about the Faith Driven Entrepreneur book AND what his latest book, titled Yes! You Really Can Change  has to say for every entrepreneur out there.

Today’s guest is Verne Harnish. Verne is a world-leading expert, speaker, author, and entrepreneur in the field of business growth. He has spent more than 30 years educating entrepreneurial teams. As part of his personal mission to support entrepreneurs, he co-founded Growth Institute, a premier online training company that has helped mid-market companies in over 50 countries learn and implement the latest business methodologies. Today, he’s sharing with us some of his top tips for entrepreneurs, his personal stories, and the ups and downs that every entrepreneur is familiar with.

David Batstone’s entrepreneurial journey begins at his favorite restaurant in San Francisco. As he recalls, he loved the tandoori chicken, but he didn’t realize that he was eating in the center of a human trafficking ring that had brought over 500 teenagers from India into the United States for the purpose of forced labor. A journalist and venture capitalist, David couldn’t reconcile the fact that human slavery was happening in his own backyard. So, he decided to do something about it. The result is Not for Sale, a book where he breaks down how business can fix the $31 billion human trafficking epidemic.Today, he’s with us to share that journey of how God opened his eyes to the brokenness in the world and gave him a vision for how to fix it.

These are the 3 beliefs that drive Kwami’s passion. (1) poverty is an injustice, (2) we have a responsibility and a joy to solve this man-made problem, and (3) every problem presents an opportunity for business. If that doesn’t get you excited to hear about what Kwami has to share, then we don’t know what will. Listen in to hear how Kwami Williams is discovering entrepreneurial solutions that tackle the challenges faced by the poor and marginalized in our world today, especially on the African continent.

Most people wouldn't compare being an NBA coach to being an entrepreneur. Yet, both are high-stress and lonely roads to travel. They involve building a team, moving to a common mission. Monty Williams, coach of the Phoenix Suns is in the NBA finals and might be on their way to an NBA title. Monty shares his story, the highs and lows of being a professional coach and reveals just how similar coaching is to being an entrepreneur.

If you hear the words Virtual Reality and immediately think of video games, then today’s guest is going to open your eyes to an entire world that is just around the corner.Renji Bijoy is the CEO and Founder of Immersed VR, where they are optimizing focus & productivity through virtual reality collaboration. In addition to being named as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 , Renji has some great insight into what the future of VR looks like and how Faith Driven Entrepreneurs can help shape it.

If you’ve long wondered what your “calling” in life might be, then you’re going to enjoy today’s guest. Eric Stumberg is an entrepreneur with expertise in services, wireless technology, and helping people find their call. At this stage of his Christian and professional journey, Eric is leaning more fully into equipping the saints for and in their Kingdom work in the marketplace— through the church, his company, and faithful relationships. Today, you’ll get to hear him talk all about that as well as why he believes that business is theology.